Cairo– Iran doubled its pledge to ban ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports continues, as mediators struggled to secure further talks before the ceasefire expires this week.
Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in a televised interview that Tehran would continue to threaten commercial ships passing through the vital waterway, after it fired on ships trying to pass through on Saturday.
Qalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the United States, said, “It is impossible for others to pass through the Strait of Hormuz while we cannot.”
Iran’s navy has warned ships against passing through the strait, a chokepoint through which about a fifth of the world’s oil typically passes. After a brief uptick in transit efforts on Saturday, ships in the Persian Gulf held their positions, with two India-flagged ships being fired upon mid-transit and forced to turn back.
Their withdrawal returned the strait to its pre-armistice status, threatening to deepen the global energy crisis and push the parties into renewed conflict as the war enters its eighth week.
tender ceasefire Talks between America and Iran will end by Wednesday. Iran said on Saturday it had received new proposals from the United States and Pakistani mediators were working to arrange another round of direct talks.
For iranThe strait was closed after the US and Israel began war on February 28 during talks over Tehran. nuclear program -Perhaps its most powerful weapon is threatening. global economy And to cause political pain to President Donald Trump. For the United States, the blockade squeezes Iran’s already weak economy and puts pressure on its government by denying it long-term cash flow.
Although the ceasefire remains in place, the standoff in the strait risks plunging the region back into war, which has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran. More than 2,290 in Lebanon23 in Israel and more than a dozen in the Gulf Arab states. Thirteen US service members are killed.
Iran announces reopening of the strait for commercial ships 10 day ceasefire between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group A storm hit Lebanon on Friday. But after Trump said blockade Iran’s ports will “remain fully operational” until Tehran reaches a deal with the United States, Iran said, adding that it will continue to enforce its sanctions on ships trying to pass through.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said Revolutionary Guard gunboats fired on a tanker and one projectile hit a container ship, damaging some containers. India’s External Affairs Ministry said it summoned Iran’s ambassador over the “serious incident” of firing on two Indian-flagged merchant ships, especially after Iran had previously let several India-bound ships pass.
“I can say that these are miscalculations through which the Americans are endangering the international community, endangering the global economy,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said. told the associated pressSaying that the US was “putting the entire ceasefire package at risk.”
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issued a statement calling the blockade a violation of the armistice and saying Iran would prevent “any conditional and limited reopening” of the strait. The Council has until recently served as Iran’s de facto top decision-making body.
Since most supplies to US military bases in the Gulf region come through the strait, “Iran is determined to maintain monitoring and control over traffic through the strait until the war completely ends,” the council said. This means the route specified by Iran, payment of fees and issuance of transit certificate.
The new standoff at the strait came hours after Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said his country was working to bridge differences between the US and Iran. Pakistan is expected to host the second round of talks early next week.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said “new proposals” have been put forward by the US during the Pakistan Army chief’s visit to Iran and are being reviewed.
But Khatibzadeh said the Iranians were not ready for a new round of face-to-face talks because the Americans “have not abandoned their maximalist position.”
He also said that Iran would not hand over its 970 pounds (440 kg) stockpile of enriched uranium to the United States, calling the idea a “nonstarter.” Khatibzadeh did not address other proposals for enriched uranium, saying only that “we are ready to address any concerns.”
Trump said Saturday that Iran was “a little cute” but that “very good” talks were taking place, and more information would come by the end of the day. “They cannot blackmail us,” he said.
__ Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank.
